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Jason Rusch (New Earth)
-33 After Sands is defeated by Jason's teammate and friend Kimiyo Hoshi, Jason contemplates executing him in order to avenge Ronnie, but is dissuaded by a lecture from the vigilante Hardware. At Kimiyo's suggestion, Jason instead uses his abilities to seal Sands' mouth shut with duct tape, preventing him from utilizing the shadows within his body, thus rendering him powerless. He later assists Icon and the rest of the Justice League in the final battle with Starbreaker. After this, Jason plays a minor role in the mini-series Justice League: Cry for Justice. He first appears after being sent to Gotham City in order to retrieve the corpse of Delores Winters after she mysteriously drops dead during a confrontation with Batwoman. He later attempts to stop Prometheus after he infiltrates the Watchtower. Realizing that he is vulnerable to magic, Prometheus easily defeats Firestorm by hitting him with a missile forged from the gauntlet of a barbarian king, temporarily undoing the merger and sending Jason and Gehenna hurtling to the floor. A short time later, Firestorm is seen helping search for survivors alongside Animal Man and Starfire after Star City is destroyed by Prometheus. Blackest Night Jason and Gehenna visit Ronnie's grave with Professor Stein. They are later attacked by Ronnie himself, whose body had been reanimated as a Black Lantern. Ronnie absorbs Jason into his body, and turns Gehenna into salt. Ronnie used their mental link to slowly absorb Jason's emotional energies, providing the Black Lantern Central Power Battery with even more power. Ronnie then sets his sights on Barry Allen, but Jason is able to take control of the Firestorm Matrix long enough for Barry to escape. Sometime after, Barry, now deputised into the Blue Lantern Corps, uses his power ring to create a construct of Gehenna, instilling enough hope in Jason to attempt to break free of his link with Ronnie. However, the Black Lantern Bart Allen attacks Barry, dissipating the construct, and Jason is imprisoned once again. In the wake of Nekron's destruction, Firestorm is restored to life, with Jason and a now resurrected Ronnie Raymond separating once the battle is over. While the other heroes celebrate their victory, Jason blames Ronnie for killing Gehenna. Brightest Day In the aftermath of the Blackest Night, Jason is shown attending Gehenna's funeral in New York City. Professor Stein and Ray Palmer attempt to comfort him, when Ronnie, still clad in casual clothing from a party the night before, arrives at the funeral. He offers an apology to Jason, who angrily tells Ronnie that he probably does not even remember Gehenna's name. Enraged when Ronnie is actually unable to remember her name, Jason punches him in the face, causing the two to merge into Firestorm once more. The two then begin fighting and arguing inside the Firestorm Matrix while Palmer and Stein attempt to figure out what is happening to them. Palmer manages to separate Jason and Ronnie, but not before the Firestorm matrix causes a huge explosion, transmuting everything in the Professor's laboratory into table salt. While recovering in the hospital, Stein explains to Ronnie that it seems to be very dangerous to fuse into Firestorm again. Some time later, Jason inadvertently uses a lingering connection to Ronnie to create an avatar of Gehenna out of table salt to attack him. Jason is asleep at the time, so is not aware of the event. Not too long after, he is lying, recovering from a massive binge, when Jason again forces the merge to help several construction workers endangered when the girders at the site are transmuted without warning to bubble gum. This time, they again hear the mysterious voice taunting them, and Ronnie accepts he remembers killing Gehenna, and they realize something else is lurking from within the Firestorm Matrix. As Firestorm, Jason and Ronnie, visit Stein in an attempt to find out what is happening to them. Stein reveals to them that the Black Lantern Firestorm still exists in the Firestorm Matrix. Firestorm is then told by the Entity that they must learn from each other and defeat the Black Lantern Firestorm, before he destroys the Entity. Somehow, Jason and Ronnie apeear to have traded places. | Powers = | Abilities = | Weaknesses = | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = | Notes = * The original Firestorm concept was created by writers Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom. Jason Rusch was created by Dan Jolley. * Jason's dual identity is known to a number of people, including his father, Gehenna, Firehawk, Pozar, his fellow JLA members, the New Gods, the Pionic Man, and Doctor Otaki, one of Jason's former neighbors. * To lessen his reliance on Professor Stein, Jason has taken up reading flash cards with chemical formulas on them. He also reads them when he is troubled. * According to Infinite Crisis, had the Pre-Crisis Multiverse continued, Jason would have been a native of the original Earth-Eight. Others who have shared the Firestorm Matrix In chronological order *Gordon *Stevie Golek *Preston *Nicole Garcia *Mick Wong *Luis Salvador *Fredo Burleson *Lorraine Reilly *Ronnie Raymond *Doctor Kennedy *Prozac User *Martin Stein *Gehenna | Trivia = | Recommended = | DC = Firestorm | Wikipedia = Firestorm (Jason Rusch) | Links = *''Firestorm (Jason Rusch) biography page at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe'' *''Firestorm biography at Firestorm 2 HQ'' *''Museum of Black Superheroes: Firestorm }} Category:African American Category:Gestalt Characters Category:Modern-Age Characters Category:S.T.A.R. Labs staff members